Collision with Destiny
by lucidscreamer
Summary: Prequel ficlet in the Chariots of the Gods universe. 1st in a series. Yami has a run in at Kaiba Corp that literally changes his life. One-shot.


Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! was created by Kazuki Takahashi

Author's Notes: This prequel ficlet takes place in my "Chariots of the Gods" universe, before the start of that story. This ficlet is complete. Any follow ups will be posted separately. See my profile for a complete list of the ficlets in this series.

Collision with Destiny

Upset that he had lost yet another argument with his father -- right down to the fact that he was sulking in the corridors of power rather than piloting his solar-darter in high orbit, as he'd _wanted_ to do today -- Yami didn't notice the other man until he had collided with him. They went down in a tangle of limbs and a flurry of paper print-outs -- real paper, too, not the usual plastifilm flimsies.

"Oops, sorry!" The other guy was a short, chunky redhead in an ill-fitting brown suit and a sheepish grin. "I guess I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Neither was I." Yami shoved himself to his feet and offered his hand to haul the redhead upright. "Here, let me help you with those…"

Together, they gathered up the scattered pages and the redhead tucked them back into a bulging manila folder. "Thanks," he said, and stuck out a hand to be shaken. "I'm Jay, by the way."

"Yami. Nice to run into you, Jay." Glancing around to make certain they had gotten all the papers, Yami spotted a glimmer of light on metal near a potted palm against the wall. He bent to retrieve the metal object -- which emitted a shrill beep and flashed an obnoxious light in his face so that he nearly dropped it again.

"Wow!" Jay reached for the still-beeping device, which looked a little like a 'sat-phone on steroids. The thing's tiny lights blinked in frantic time with the noise. "Let me see that!" He peered at the diminutive screen on the top of the device, then looked up at Yami with wide eyes. "Wow. This is great!"

Yami raised an eyebrow. He had no idea what the guy was getting so worked up about. "What _is_ that thing?"

"Oh, it's a machine for detecting certain forms of energy. It's set to sound an alarm when it picks up a Tycho-Epstein signature."

_Okaaay_. Yami had heard of Tycho-Epstein energy -- the patents on the TEM technology used in satellite communication and jump-gate systems had made Kaiba Corporation the most powerful company in the solar system -- but he had an MBA, not a degree in physics. He had no idea how the things actually _worked_. "So, why is it beeping at _me_?"

"That's the amazing part! I've never seen anyone with such a high reading, it means you have an elevated concentration of T-E energy in your body. We think -- well, mostly me and Otto, but Piotr will come around -- that a greater concentration T-E energy could mean a correspondingly greater affinity for the Tycho-Epstein Matrix, and _that_ could mean a better chance of successful interface with our test frame." He took a deep breath and beamed at Yami. "Could I get you to come down to the lab with me? I'd love to run a few tests."

Having only understood one word in three of that explanation, Yami remained skeptical. "What kind of tests?"

"Nothing invasive, I promise. We'd just take a few readings, check to see if you really do have an affinity for the TEM interface, stuff like that."

"I don't know…"

"Have you heard of the Enhanced Artificial Intelligence program?" Jay asked suddenly. To Yami's relief, the redhead switched off the meter, silencing the annoying beeps.

"Yes." The E-AI project was the talk of the mecha division, an ambitious attempt at true human/computer interface. Since the mecha production arm of Kaiba Corp was his father's domain, Yami knew more about it than he cared to. "What does the E-AI project have to do with anything?"

"We're looking for test pilots for the new enhanced mecha," Jay said. "So far, we haven't found anyone with a high enough TEM affinity rating to actually connect with the E-AI, but I'm betting you'd qualify." His smile took on a sly cast that seemed at odds with his round, innocent features. "If you're interested, that is."

Pilot one of the new enhanced mecha? Of course he was interested! His father would never allow him to actually go through with it, but… "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to let you run the tests," Yami said, speaking mostly to himself.

Jay beamed. "That's the spirit! I'm on my way down to R&D -- if you have the time, we can perform some of the tests right now."

Before he could change his mind, Yami nodded. What was the harm? After all, even if he passed the testing, it didn't mean he would end up as a pilot. Right? He probably wouldn't even be able to connect with the E-AI.

_Still_, Yami thought, his mind off in the stratosphere as he followed Jay toward the research department. _Wouldn't it be amazing if I could?_

* * *

Author's Note: This ficlet is complete. There are other ficlets in this prequel series, which will be posted separately. All will be labeled as part of my CotG prequel-verse, and there's a handy timeline thingy in my profile to show you at a glance the chronology of the stories. Thanks for reading!


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